Disclaimer: Not mine, yadda yadda yadda. Don't own the songs either, lyrics are owned by Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch, and Vanessa Carlton.
Summary: Buffy begins to deal with her new place in life, plus the happy little family enjoy a day at the pool.
Spoilers: Um, let's just say everything up to IWRY, after that I'm off into my own little world.
Rating: PGish.
Feedback: Oh, yes please! It's an essential part in my writing process. AN: Okay this is the second piece in my series, I highly suggest reading the first fic, I Wish, before otherwise things might get a little confusing.

//And as he spoke, he spoke, ordinary words, though they did not feel
For I felt what I had not felt before, and you'd swear those words could heal and
As I looked up into those eyes, his vision borrows mine
And I knows he's no stranger, for I feel I've held him for all of time //

Buffy pulled the silk robe tighter around her body, wiping her tired eyes as she made her way down the steps and towards the noise, which sounded like it was coming from the kitchen if Buffy guessed correctly.

It was weird, even though she had never lived in this house, or actually, had remembered living in the house, if her assumptions were correct, she knew her way around it rather well, it was as if she actually had been living in the house for the past couple of years.

Walking through the hallway she stopped right outside the kitchen, leaning on the doorframe, watching Angel interact with her children-with their children, she corrected herself. Aidan was sitting on the counter top, his racecar pajamas still on, he was trying his hardest to try and get a little finger into the bowl of pancake mix. Buffy chuckled to herself, she would never understand that boy and his love for pancake batter, it was strange.

Courtney giggled as her father turned in circles, dancing around the kitchen, pulling small fingers from batter bowls and flipping pancakes. Her pudgy hands clutched pieces of bananas, which Angel had set in front of her earlier to eat.

Buffy didn't know how she got her, wherever here was, or for how long she would be allowed to stay, but she was not about to waste a minute of this paradise. Walking into the room, she wrapped her arms around her husband, resting her chin against his back. "Guess who?"

Turning around Angel captured her lips in a soft kiss, resting his forehead against hers. "I don't know, some leggy women I met on the streets last night?" He joked, earning him a playful slap from his wife.

Courtney deciding she wanted in on the fun held up her arms, "Momma uh."

Walking over to the highchair, Buffy picked up the infant, combing her fingers through the light brown shoulder length hair. "Does my baby girl want some attention?" Buffy cooed, holding the child up to eye level. "Does my baby want some attention from Mommy?"

The girl smiled showing her couple of baby teeth, which were emerging, moving her hands covered in banana slime to rest on her mother's cheeks.

Buffy made a face, "Oh, no hands on Mommy's face. Messy hands." Buffy said to her daughter, moving to the sink. Grabbing a paper towel she wet it and began to clean off the messy sticky hands of her daughter.

"Mommy, I hewped made the pancates." Aidan said proudly, pointing to the plate of pancakes, and to the bowl of batter sitting next to him.

"Really, that must mean they are going to taste extra good." Buffy said with enthusiasm. Kissing her son on the head.

Aidan nodded, as Angel helped him off the counter, telling him to go wash up for breakfast.

Buffy set Courtney once again in her high chair, as she began pulling dishes out of the cabinets. For a second she almost forgot that this wasn't her life, or it wasn't the life she remembered living. It was kind of strange, but as the minutes rolled on, Buffy's memories of what did and didn't happen began to blur. She remembered that she had come to Angel yesterday because of a divorce; yet at the same time, she clearly remembered waking up in Angel's arms yesterday, she remembered the four of them going to the pool, it was Aidan's first swim lesson, they had packed a cooler and had stayed till a little after twelve.

She really wanted to ask Giles about this, but was pretty sure that at least in this reality, the Giles she knew would well basically think she was crazy for even asking- apparently she was the only who remembered her other world.

Angel placed a kiss on her neck, stirring her from her thoughts. "You 'kay? You've been in your own little world all morning."

"Huh?" Yeah, fine." Buffy said startled. Although Angel didn't believe her for a second before he could prod more Aidan came running back, yelling he was ready for some breakfast.

~:*:~

// I'm gonna soak up the sun //

"Loot mommy. Loot daddy." Buffy heard her son call out, from the pool. He was clinging to the side his swim teacher only inches away. Seeing that he had his parent's attention he began furiously kicking his legs, making the biggest splashes he could.

Both parents clapped, as Buffy gave her little boy two thumbs up, before the teacher once again regained the boy's attention. The adolescent carried the boy towards the middle of the pool and instructed him to lye on his back, they were going to learn how to float.

Buffy lay her head back against the pool's plastic beach chairs, closing her eyes to block off the sun's bright rays. For the second time that day Buffy could help but think of how great her life was, it seemed as if she had taken a vacation to paradise. She loved her life- she had it perfect.

She remembered a week ago, Willow and Xander had taken a trip to LA. The six of them: Buffy, Angel, Willow, Xander, Courtney, and Aidan, had gone out for some brunch. Angel had agreed to watch the children, an act Buffy greatly repaid for later that night, so that the three best friends could spend the day together catching up and talking about old times.

Shaking her head she wondered where that though came from. Looking over she saw her daughter sitting on the sand, her daughter scooping sand up into the small plastic bucket, before she dumped back out, only to repeat the actions. Angel sat on the chair next to her, reading one of his crime and mystery novels. She shook her head; Angel reading a novel, from the twenty-first century- it was a new sight.

Buffy stood up from her lawn chair, walking the couple of inches over to her husband. Moving the book out of her way, she sat herself down in his lap, placing her arms around his neck. Kissing him on the lips, she parted his mouth with her tongue. She couldn't explain it; she just got the strongest urge to kiss the man sitting next to her. "Mm, have I told you how much I love you?"

"Not in the last couple of minutes, no." Angel joked, pulling her in for another kiss.

"Has anyone told you two that PDA's are so out of fashion?" A new voice asked, coming from the brunette woman standing over the couple.

Buffy reluctantly pulled away from her husband, but kept her hold on him, needing the contact. "Hey Cordy. What brings you here?" She asked; it was weird seeing Cordelia at a pool, a pool surrounded with infants and young children splashing and playing about, it was a scene that didn't scream out Cordelia.

"Like I'd miss my favorite nephews second swim lesson." She stated, sitting on an empty beach chair.

"You missed his first one." Angel stated with a grin. Both women rolled their eyes at the man's comment.

It was then that Aidan ran over, a smile on his face. "Aund Cordy. Did you see me swim?"

Buffy stood up from Angel's warm and welcoming lap; fetching a towel she wra pp ed it around her son, drying him off.

"You were great, I think you deserve some ice cream." Cordelia stated, receiving glares from both parents. Little did she know that said, great kid had already had some candy and an ice cream pop. "That is of course if your parents say it's okay." She added, winking at the boy.

Turning to his parents, he stuck out his bottom lip, "Pwease cad I ged ice sceam? Pwease." He begged, walking over to both parents, giving them each a hug and a kiss. He then said the magic words that topped the cake, "I lof you."

Both parents sighed, it was heard to resist such a charming little boy. "Let's get you into some new clothes and then you and Aunt Cordy can get some ice cream, but only if Aunt Cordy takes your sister along with her, deal?" Aidan shook his head rapidly, turning to the brunette women, practically begging her to take Courtney, stating she's not all that bad. Causing all three adults to laugh.

Aidan dragged his father to the men's room, so he could change out of his wet suit and into some clothes, while Buffy placed the little girls white sundress covered with tiny pink and yellow flowers over her head before placing the natural colored sandals on her feet.

Aidan ran over to his now, favorite aunt, with Angel trailing a few feet behind. Throwing his wet swim trunk on the floor near his mother, he grabbed Cordelia's hand, as he started leading her out the pool.

"Hey, wait up. We need to get your car seats and place them in Cordelia's car, and don't I get a kiss goodbye?" Buffy asked, bending down and placing her cheek out to be kissed.

Sighing the boy walked to his mother, placing an over dramatized kiss on her. With that the five of them walked out of the pool into the clear afternoon.

As Buffy and Angel hoped in the now empty car, Buffy leaned over to capture his lips in a steamy kiss, "Whatever will we do with the afternoon all to ourselves. No children to bother us." She asked a wicked gleam in her eyes, as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Running her finger lightly up and down his thigh.

~:*:~

// I recognized the way you make me feel
It's hard to think that you might not be real
I sense it now the water's getting deep
I try to wash the pain away from me //

Dinner had been made and enjoyed, there was only one criticism from Cordelia too who had stayed. Dishes had been washed a new load of laundry had been started, and both children had been put to bed and were now fast asleep.

Buffy hoped into bed, snuggling close to her husband, resting her chin on his chest she looked up at him. "Can I tell you something?" She asked, sounding worried.

He looked down at her, placing the work he had been looking over on the bed stand. "Does this have to do with your strange behavior?" He questioned. Seeing her slowly nod, "Tell me."

"This might sound strange." She began unsurely, trying to collect her thoughts.

"Love, we used to live on a hellmouth. You are a vampire slayer; I was a vampire who had a soul, recently turned human. We now have two beautiful children and are married. I don't think anything you tell me can sound strange." He joked, trying to lighten the mood. He saw her and became serious, "I'm listening."

Taking a deep breath Buffy began to explain, explain everything. How they had broken up several years ago, how Buffy knew she was pregnant with Aidan but too scared to tell Angel, so she left him. Left a life they could have known. She told him about how she met a man, Kevin, and feeling guilty and lonely began to date him. When she told him she was pregnant he assumed the baby was his and asked her to marry him.

Slowly she explained how she began to love him, not like she had loved Angel, but in a different way, in a safer way. Buffy explained how over the years their marriage had gone from good to bad, and then from bad to worse, finally resulting in a divorce. She told him that over the year before the divorce Aidan had lost his "spark." He became unusually shy, he withdrew from the world, his tempers would change drastically all in a matter of moments- one second he'd be overly aggressive, the next he'd be crying his eyes out, throwing things around the room. His speech took a turn for the worse; he began using "baby talk" and had frequent bed-wettings. Buffy had taken him to a specialist who had suggested he might have a serve case of depression. She explained everything up till the night before she went into that hotel bed, waking up in a different reality, this reality, a happier reality.

Angel sat there stunned, shocked, and not knowing what to say.

"Strange, huh?" Buffy asked meekly, scared of what Angel might do, what he might say? Would he leave her, knowing this was all some crazy universe.

He pulled her to him, capturing her lips with his own, needing the reassurance, needing to know she was real, that she would not vanish over the night. Running his hands greedily through her hair, up and down her body, pulling her smaller frame closer to his larger one. Through the kiss she felt his pain, his fear.

Vigilantly pulling back she placed a slender finger over his lips silencing his protest about to form, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here forever." She assured, both herself and him.

"That's the whole point." He whispered; as she leaned down to kiss him once more. There were still issues that needed to be discussed especially in light of the recent information, but both parents were exhausted, so talk was held off for a night, as both fell into a deep peaceful sleep.

//Just a day, just an, ordinary day
Just tryin' to get by //

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